Automatically-inflatable buoy



Feb.'3, 1931. E. s. MAGNINv AUTOMTICALLY INFLATABLE BUOY Filed Ju1y .19,1929

"will [IMI f 1 72%Jw *INVENTol-c) Patented Feb. 3, 1931 Parent ottica ERNEST sALvAToR MAGNIN, or CHICAGO, ILLINois AUTOMATICALLY-INFLATABLE BUOY Application filed .Tully 19,

My invention is concerned with buoys that are automatically inflated when they are subjected to the action of water, and is in the nature of improvements on such a buoy as is 5 shown in my Patent No. 826,342, granted July 17, 1906,l and` is designed to remedy defects found to exist in the structure shown in said patent, and to malte such av buoy that will be thoroughly practical and which will l be durable, and which can be repeatedly used by emptying and re-charging the same. l

To this end, it consists in certain combinations of elements which will be fully described in thebody of the specication and l the'novel combinations particularly-pointed out in the claims.

To illustrate my invention, annex hereto a sheet of drawings, in which the same reference characters are used to vdesignate identical parts in all the figures, ofwhich,-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of my invention as applied to a safety belt to be worn by passengers on vessels or air craft traveling over water;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionon line 2-2 of Fignl, on a larger scale;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 7 are transverse sections on the lines 33, 4-44, 5*5 and 7 -7 respectively, of Fig. 2; and Fig. 6 is a View similar to Fig; 2, but with the gas generating mechanism removed so that it can be emptied and refilled.y

While my invention may be applied to verious forms of buoys, l have shown it as applied to a safety belt 10, which is adapted to be secured by the straps 11 around the body of the wearer, and which may be of any desired material and construction, provided the inaterial is air-tight and waterproof. l

In the top of the belt, I secure a metal annulus 12, preferably by cementing the eXtensions 13 formed about the opening to the errterior of the annulus. The upper end of the annulus is externally threaded, as seen at 14, to cooperate with the threads 15' formed on the inside4 of the downwardly projecting flange 16 forming the bottom of a cap .17 to be more fully described hereinafter. Removably secured in the annulus 12 is the metallic tube 18, which has the horizontal flange 19 1929. Serial No. 379,341.

extending outward from its top vand resting y on the top of the annulus 12. Resting on the top of this flange. 19 is an elastic rubber' disk 20 which preferably has the thin metallic annulus 21 resting thereon. When the cap 17 is screwed down in place, the annular seat 22 formed on the inside of the cap engagesthe upper edge of the annulus 21 and clamps it, the rubber disk and the flange 19 between it andthe top of the annulus 12 to make an air tight joint, so as to prevent the escape of any gas from the inflated bag 10 through the opening. I preferably form another annular bearing surface 23 on the Vunder side of the cap 17 and engaging the inner edge of the annulus 21. l

In the bottom of the tube 18, I solder or otherwise secure the ring 24, which supports the circular wire-mesh screen 25 which closes the bottomY of the tube 18, and whichhasits outer edge turned upward and secured by the solder between the bottom of the tube 18 and the ring 24. rIhe bottom of the tube 18 is eXteriorly threaded so that the ring 25a can be screwed thereon, and this ring 25a supports the wire-mesh cup 26, the upper edge of which is soldered or otherwise secured to the ring 25a. When the apparatus is assembled, this cup 26 is filled to any needed extent with calcium carbide 27, or some other suitable dry chemical that gives o gas in quantity when it is wet.

Seated on the ring 24 and spaced away from the tube 18 by the lugs 28 projecting inwardly from the bottom portion thereof, l.

is the readily frangible, sealedv liquid-holder 29, which preferably takes the form of a tube, as' shown, and which is preferably formed of wax or some other readilyv frangible material, such as very thin glass. fore this tube is sealed, it will be filled with water 30 to whatever depth may be necessary to generate, in connection with the carbide 27, sufficient gas to fully inflate the belt 10. Embedded in the material forming the top of the sealed tube 29 is the enlarged head 31 of the metallic rod 32, which extends downward to a point where it nearly engages the bottom of the holder 29.v This rod may be l provided with the enlargement 33 on its lowerl end to insure a larger opening being made in the bottom of the holder when the rod is forced violently downward by the means to be hereinafter described. lt will, of course, be understood that the rod 32 is provided with a head 3l sealed in the material constituting the top of the holder 29 in order that the same may be held centrally in a vertical position so as to be certainly struck by the plunger 34.

rlhis plunger 34, which is preferably of the form shown in Fig. 2, is made up of two halves 'held together by the screws 35, and its truncated conical lower end is adapted to be thrust downward through the aperture 36 in the cap 1'? by the action of the helically-coiled expanding spring 37, the lower end of which engages the top of the plunger' 34, while its upper end engages the semicircular upper portion 38 of the tube 39 extending upwardly from and forming the upper portion of the cap 1'2". rlhis semicircular portion 38 has the y small piece 40 held thereon by a pair of screws 41 to secure the upper end of the paper strip 42, the lower portion of which is clamped between the two halves of the plunger, so that whenr the paper strip is dry, as it will be when the mechanism is assembled, the plunger will be held in the position shown in Fig. 2, against the stress of the spring 3?, by the strengthl of the paper strip 42. rEhis paper strip is of such a character and thickness that while it has sufficient strength to resist rupture by the spring when it is dry, it will absorb moisture when water comes in contact with it, and thus lose its tensile strength, so that as soon as it is thoroughly wet it ruptures, and the plunger will be thrown violently downward through the aperture 36, depressing the rubber disk 20, fracturing the top of the liquid holder 29, engaging the top 31 of the rod 32, which is thrust downward so as to penetrate the bottom of the holder 29 and allow the water 30 therein to pass into the cup 26 and moisten the carbide 27, thus generating acetylene gas, which fills the belt 10 and makes it sufiiciently buoyant to support the wearer in the water.

llo prevent possible displacement of the plunger, by any irregular or torsional action of the spring 37, l preferably provide the inner surface of the tube 39 with a pair of vertical grooves 48, in which travel the ends of the lugs 44 secured on the spires of the spring 3'? to guide the same. The upper end of the tube 39 is preferably protected by the small metallic cap placed thereover and provided with the aperture 46 through which water may enter. tube 39 is also provided with two vertical slots 47 for the same purpose, and it will be readily understood that when the deflated belt, properly loaded, is worn, in case the wearer is immersed in water, the apparatus will function almost immediately and furnish the necessary buoyancy to keep him afloat. As it may sometimes be desirable to wear the apparatus when it ,is not desired for it to function, l preferably provide the cap 48, the lower end of which is interiorly vthreaded and co-operates with threads on the cap 36, so that by securely screwing the said cap 48 in place, the apparatus not operate, even if immersed. 'if his cap would also be useful where the structure shown is applied to larger buoys to be placed in the interior of a vessel to give it buoyancy in case of an accident. Assuming that the vessel has a large number of such buoys, constructed on a large scale and placed in the hold, with the caps 48 in place, in case of an accident, as many of the caps will be removed as are needed to furnish the necessary buoyancy to keep the vessel afloat.

ln the structure shown in my aforesaid Patent No. 82o",342, the apparatus was not removable, and could not be readily cleaned 'and recharged. rlhe calcium carbide was placed in the belt itself, instead of in the cup 26, with the result that it tended to rot the belli, and when it was used, the sludge resulting from it remained in the belt and tended to rot it. il] ith my present constructioi, if the apparatus is inflated, when the belt is removed, the cap 1'? can be unscrewed, i nd the tube 18 and cup 26 lifted out, bring ing with it all the sludge or residue from the action of the water on the dry chemical. 'lhc ring 25 can be unscrewed from the bottoni the tube 18, the sludge emptied, and when the cup is dried, re-iilled with fresh cai" W, 100 the ruptured holder 29 can be removesL and replaced by a fresh one, and the plunger can be separated into its two parts and the paper strip 42 renewed, and all the parts reassembled in operative position, as shown.

ln the construction shown in my Patent No. 826,342, the frangible container 16 therein shown was not sealed, except by the action of the packing (3o-operating therewith, which would be imperfect at best, owing to the possible weakness of the wai: body of' the holder, and the rod 19 was not held in place and might not be struck by the plunger if it were displaced to one side. Viith my present construction, where the sealing is with the metallic tube 18, which is not in any way aff ted by the operation of the device, the apparatus will remain gas-tight and buoyant indefinitely; whereas, with the structure of the aforesaid patent, it would necees rilfy be buoyant only a short time after the liquid holder is fractured.

While l have shown and described my invention as embodied in the form which. I at present consider best adapted to carry out i s purposes, it will be understood that it capable of some modification and that l do not desire to be limited in the interpretation of the following claims c* ept as may necessitated by the state or the prior art. L10

lil

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ef the United States, is:

l. In a device of the class described, the combination with a frangible liquid holder, of a juxtaposed dry chemical holder to receive the liquid when its holder is broken, an air-tight container for the generated gas, a sliding plunger to fracture the liquid holder, a guide for the plunger, a helical spring cooperating with the plunger and normally under tension` means for holding the spring and plunger in their retracted tensioned positien released by wetting it, and guiding means for the spring to compel it to move in a right line, said guiding means consisting of a lug on one of the spires of the spring co-operating with a slot in the guide for the plunger.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a frangible liquid holder, of an air-tight container for the generated gas, a tube removably secured in said container surrounding the vliquid helder, means for breaking the liquid holder when said means are wet, a member carrying said means Screwed on to the container, and packing means interposed between said member and said container which confines the generated gas to the container when the liquid holder is broken or removed.

3. ln a device of the class described, the combination with a frangible liquid holder, of an air-tight container for the generated gas, a tube removably secured in said container surrounding the liquid holder, means for breaking the liquid holder when said means are wet, a member carrying said means screwed on to the container, and packing means interposed between said member and l said container which confinesv the generated gas to the container when the liquid holder is broken or removed, said packing means consisting of an annular, eXteriorly threaded seat on the container, an annular flange on the tube resting on said seat, a rubber diskV resting at its edges on the flange and at its center on the liquid holder, and an interiorly threaded annular flange on the member cooperating with the seat.

4l. ln a device of the class described, the combination with a frangible liquid holder, of an air-tight container for the generated gas, a tube removably secured in said container surrounding the liquid holder, means for breaking the liquid holder when said' means are wet, a member carrying said means screwed on to the container, and packing means interposed between said member and said container which confines the generated gas to the container when the liquid holder is broken or removed, said packing means consisting of an annular, eXteriorly threaded Seaton the container, an annular flange on the tube resting on said seat, a rubber disk resting at its edges on the flange and at its of moisture.

center on the liquid holder, a packing ring restingon the edges of the` disk, and an interiorly threaded annular flange' on the memberco-operating with the seat.

5. In la device of the class described, the combination with an airetight gas container, of a tube therein, a receptacle for dry ehemicals into which the tube opens, a springoperated plunger above the tube, a readily frangible self-sealed liquid-holder in the tube, a rigid, non-frangible rod having one end very much enlargedy and sealed in the frangible material at the top of the liquid holder and the other end adjacent the bottom thereof, and means normally holding the plunger under tension released by theaction 6. In a device of the classdescribed, the eombinatien with an air-tight Vgas container, of a tube removably secured therein having an inwardly extending flange at the lower end thereof, a perforated dry-chemical holder removably secured on'the lower end of the tube, a tubular frangible liquid-holder within said tube havin its Ylower end restinv on J. fl n o the nange and its body spaced away from the tube,a removable cap for saidtube, a springpressed plunger carried by sa'idcap tending tol break the liquid holder, sealing means between the cap and the tube tc hold the liquid holder in place and prevent the escape of gas when the liquid holder is fractured or removed, and means operated by the act-ion of the moisture to release the plunger so that it will be driven against the liquid holder when said means is wet.

7. In a deviceof the class described, the combination with an air-tight belt having athreaded annulus permanentlysecured in the upper edge thereof', ofa rigid tube having an annular flange seated on the top of the annulus and an inwardly-extending annular flange at its bottom, a perforated dry-chemical receptacle removably secured on the bottom of the tube, a sealed frangible liquidholding tube having its lower end resting on the bottom flange of the rigid tube and its upper end flush with the upper flange, a rubber disk resting on said upper flange and the upper end of the liquid-holding tube, a cap screwed on to the topof the annulus and clamping the disk air-tightly on the top of the rigid tube, and means carried by said cap for automatically fracturing the liquid -holding tube when said means is wet.

8. ln a device of the class described, the combination with an air-tight belt having a threaded annulus permanently secured in the upper edge thereof, of a rigid tube having an annular flange seated on the top of the annulus and an inwardly-extending annular flange at its bottom, a perforated dry-chemical receptacle removably secured on the bottom of the tube, a sealed frangible liquid-holding tube having its lower end rest-ing on the bottom flange of the rigid tube and its upper end flush with the upper flange, a rod having its enlarged upper end sealed in the material of the top of the li p1idholdin5y tube and its lower end adjacent the bottom thereof, a rubber disk resting on said upper flange and the upper end of the liq'uid-holding` tube, a cap screwed on to the cap of the annulus and clamping the disk air-tightly on the top of the rigid tube, and means carried by said cap for automatically fracturing` the liquidholding tube when said means is wet by strikingthe top of the rod and forcing its lower end against the bottom of the liquidholding tube.

9. ln. a device of the class described, the combination with a gas-tight container, of a threaded annulus secured in the top thereof, a rigid tube having a flange resting on the top of the annulus, a ring having one end closed by wire mesh sealed on the bottom of the tube, another ring screwed on the bottom of the tube, a wire-mesh cup secured on and supported by the second ring, inwardly projecting lugs 'in the tube above the first ring, a sealed readily frangible liquid-holding tube resting on the first ring and spaced away from the rigid tube by the lugs, a rubber disk resting on the upper flange of the rigid tube and on the top of the sealed liquid-holding tube, a rod having its enlarged upper end sealed in the material of the top of the franggible liquid-holding tube and its lower end adjacent the bottom thereof, a cap screwed on to the annulus and clamping the rubber disk to make an air-tight joint, and means carried by the cap automatically to fracture the liquid-holding tube by a downward blow on the top thereof when said means is wet.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set hand this 15th day of July, 1929.

ERNEST SALVATOR MAGNIN. 

